If the overlap of trails being laid by The Beatles and Bob Dylan was the point when rock and roll, folk and pop merged to become ‘rock’ then by 1970 it was roughly five years down a road whose route was unimaginable when 1960 dawned.
Indeed, the second half of the 60s took the form of a rapidly-turning kaleidoscope as popular music expanded into dynamic, if diverging directions – and no sooner had epithets such as ‘folk,’ ‘space‘ and ‘raga‘ come along to define a new field in ‘rock’ then ‘acid,’ ‘jazz,’ ‘psychedelic,’ ‘country‘ and ‘blues‘ were quickly added to the glossary of terms as boundaries of creativity extended even further.
Like never before songwriters were commenting on pressing social issues of the day, not only reflecting on how times were a-changing, but in some cases setting out agendas and manifestos – their collective muse fired by youth culture, civil rights, sex, the war in Vietnam, drugs, sexual equality and assassinations.
With aspirations for global harmony and greater personal freedoms came the mantra of music, peace and love – this striving for a higher purpose culminating at the Woodstock festival of August 1969 where performers such as Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sly and The Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Grateful Dead were representative of new forms in musical expression and among those articulating a turbulent period of history.
But if those three days in upstate New York were realisation of the hippie dream, the dawn would be an altogether different reality. Woodstock proved the last hurrah of a sinking counter-culture that within months would be rocked by the horrors surrounding the December 1969 Altamont Festival (headlined by ultimate 60s enfant terribles the Rolling Stones), the Chicago Conspiracy Trials and murders perpetrated by followers of cult leader Charles Manson.
Those speaking out on behalf of the Woodstock generation through the lyrics of their songs had scope ranging from limitless possibilities up in space to a debilitating jungle war down on earth, with love affairs, collective empowerment and hopes for cultural liberation anywhere and everywhere in between – some truly great lyricists not only questioning their own aspirations, but those of society as a whole.
Selecting twenty great LP’s of 1970 therefore turns into an unenviable exercise, not because there is a dearth of outstanding albums, far from it – the excellence in a great year for rock reflected in the absence of some notable releases from the final reckoning.
Not only on the calendar was there evidence the 1960s were over. Less than four months into the new decade, The Beatles, whose startling innovations as a musical entity had an incalculable effect on contemporary culture, let alone the development of rock music, announced their break-up, Messrs Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr losing the will to remain together.
Since release of the sprawling double LP ‘The White Album’ (1968) they often appeared in a state of disintegration, although ‘Abbey Road‘ (1969), the last tracks chronologically The Beatles recorded together, showed them as buoyant and imaginative as ever.
Between those two albums they undertook sessions for a project eventually entitled ‘LET IT BE‘ – an album worth of songs with accompanying film-length documentary, that was left in the can before being released a month after they split.
Captured on camera as fallible, squabbling individuals, at times the footage is an uncomfortable watch, while trademark Beatle-originality is absent from almost half of the tracks – but at such times when things ignite, The Beatles reach levels of accomplishment they alone were responsible in creating.
Even before ‘Let it Be‘ had reached the shops Paul McCartney (‘McCartney‘) had made his first incursion into the solo album market, producing a record that tried hard to please, if lacking in substance – neither of which could be said of the albums John Lennon and George Harrison would unveil before 1970 was out.
On the astounding ‘PLASTIC ONO BAND‘ Lennon wrote The Beatles, himself as an icon, the English class system, the 60s, heroin withdrawal, personal tragedy and the whole notion of hero worship out of his system. Latterly with second wife, Japanese conceptual artist Yoko Ono, Lennon had become a figurehead in furthering the cause of world peace, particularly in his high-profile opposition to the Vietnam War.
But on his first bona fide solo outing (Lennon and Ono had previously released two albums of largely experimental music), he went to every recess of his soul in stepping away from Beatle-John persona – and in doing so made some of the most intense and personal music ever recorded.
Due to domination of the Lennon-McCartney axis with regard to songs populating Beatle albums, it was hardly surprising Harrison should have amassed a backlog of material. Given how many of his recent contributions had been superb it came as no shock that much of ‘ALL THINGS MUST PASS‘ should, for the most part, be so utterly compelling. In the first instance an affirmation of his spiritual beliefs, as a triple-album it was invariably too long and on occasion a touch indulgent, but with so much to commend it, George was immediately established as major talent in his own right.
Among the cast of thousands who assisted Harrison in delivering his masterpiece was old pal and guitar virtuoso Eric Clapton, who fresh from his stint in superstar aggregation Cream and more recently still powerhouse R&B outfit Delaney & Bonnie, cut an impressive solo album (another fine record from 1970 to miss the cut). Utilising the same super-session format, but only this time enlisting the sublime talents of Allman Bros leader and lead guitarist Duane Allman, ‘LAYLA & OTHER ASSORTED LOVE SONGS‘ (credited to Derek and The Dominoes) quickly gained renown as the great rock guitar album.
Drawing the most inspired playing from one another, at times, such as the incendiary ‘Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad’, it is hard to tell where one solo ends and another starts. To non-aficionados of electric six-string craft come moments that sound like double-album padding, but there is clear affinity between the two main players and no lack of emotion in the vocals either – Clapton singing the monumental title-track, a lovelorn paean to ‘the wife of my best friend’ (Patti Harrison – spouse of George), as if his life depended upon it.
If Clapton was an overlord of electric guitar, then Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin was becoming its high priest, adding variety to his undoubted virtuosity on the often brilliant, occasionally baffling ‘LED ZEPPELIN III.’
If the first side finds Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham in their customary roles as creators of heavyweight musical fury and lightweight lyrical candour, then side two brings a shift in emphasis, not just to the record but their stylistic approach going forward. Page takes turns on banjo, mandolin and pedal steel as the group consciously explore new territory – the peak of a different kind of power found on the moving ‘That’s the Way‘ a song closer in origins to the folk-rock of Stephen Stills than rock-blues derived from Skip James.
Less kindly reviewers derided the acoustic material, pointing out others had been there first with more originality, (overlooking the fact it was sometimes hard to differentiate between one hard-rocking Zep track and another). But hats off to Zeppelin – rather than ‘Harper‘ – for challenging themselves to evolve at a time when it would have been easier just to rewrite ‘Whole Lotta Love,’ their status as the most successful band on the planet already established.
Predating Zeppelin in being part of the mid-60s English pop explosion, The Kinks and The Who were still pulling up trees, continuing to ooze the wit and wisdom, power and panache that had been their forte since bursting onto the scene.
Six years on from their game-changing debut hit ‘You Really Got Me,’ King Kink Ray Davies lamented their unscrupulous treatment at the hands of music publishers and record companies on the absorbing ‘LOLA VERSUS POWERMAN AND THE MONEYGOROUND.’
This was a heady mix of vitriol and vulnerability, but as ever with those classy Kinks, satire was always around the next (Soho) corner, ‘Lola‘ the latest example of how as a writer of exemplary singles Davies remained in a class of his own.
After the gargantuan success of their rock opera ‘Tommy’ Who guitarist Pete Townshend gave his ever-fertile imagination a momentary rest as he, Moon, Daltrey and Entwistle went out and did what they bested everyone else at – night after night The Who proving they were an untouchable live act.
The subsequent in-concert recording ‘LIVE AT LEEDS‘ is testament to the incredible mix of chaos and cohesion they created on stage, no less staggering was that such a cataclysm of sound emanated from just three instruments and a voice. Undoubtedly the finest album of its type ever recorded, even more remarkable is that ‘Live at Leeds‘ might not even be the greatest night The Who would ever have.
Opening act for The Who at many of their 1970 shows were The James Gang whose ‘Rides Again‘ album, thanks mainly to the song-writing prowess and guitar-wizardry of Joe Walsh, was of a high standard, while with their ‘Fun House‘ set The Stooges took early Who/Kinks power-chord motifs to such rowdy extremes it would have been labelled ‘punk rock‘ had anyone yet thought of such a label.
In a year of extraordinary productivity from a number of artists, Clapton had Creedence Clearwater Revival, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Stephen Stills and The Grateful Dead for company in having his name attached to a pair of albums.
With ‘Workingman’s Dead‘ then followed by the even more superlative ‘AMERICAN BEAUTY‘ the Grateful Dead moved without the slightest hesitancy from electric psychedelic blues to acoustic-based country rock. The consistency and focus that had previously been an anathema to guitarist Jerry Garcia and his cohorts yielded highly impressive results – and whether judged purely as Grateful Dead albums or examples of how best to fuse country and rock, they have stood the test of time better than most.
There were country elements on each of ‘Cosmo’s Factory‘ and ‘Pendulum,’ each a stellar offering from Creedence Clearwater Revival. From the same San Francisco Bay locale as The Grateful Dead (but less affluent neighbourhood), CCR were an altogether tougher proposition, exemplified by a more muscular rhythm section and the prolific writing of singer-guitarist John Fogerty, his politically charged songs giving them an immediacy few bands could match.
With working-class sensibilities set to any number of irresistible melodies, this was the very definition of ‘progressive rock’ – ‘COSMO’S FACTORY‘ the pick of what they delivered in 1970, even if the previous year had seen Creedence at their absolute zenith.
Choosing between ‘Moondance‘ and ‘His Band and the Street Choir‘ was a slightly less onerous task – simply because few albums in the rock medium measure up to what Van Morrison delivered on the former.
One of which could be its mesmerising predecessor ‘Astral Weeks,’ Van the Man taking a more relaxed approach on ‘MOONDANCE‘ – the music losing none of its serenity for that, his lyrics less elusive, but just as serene. As a nod to his Belfast roots, the blues, jazz and R&B overtones that infused gloriously uplifting melodies was christened ‘Caledonia Soul,’ its most exuberant example being ‘Domino,’ a minor hit single and majestic high point of ‘His Band and the Street Choir.’
Due to taking inspiration more from Fats Domino than Bob Dylan, Morrison was not considered a singer-songwriter classmate of Stephen Stills and Neil Young, the influence of Dylan evident in their occasionally overlapping take on electric folk-rock.
Fiercely competitive but also mutually protective, lauded LA folk-rockers Buffalo Springfield could not contain the towering talents and sizeable egos of Canadian Young and Florida-born Stills for a second longer than possible. When the band imploded Stills teamed up with ex-Byrd David Crosby and former-Hollie Graham Nash, who together produced an acclaimed 1969 self-titled debut collection – their trio status extended to superstar quartet when solo artist Young was added to the line-up.
Articulating the values expressed by the counter-culture movement, with their earnest lyrics woven into a fabric of acoustic and electric guitars, ‘DEJA VU‘ saw them tagged as ‘spokesmen for the times’ – the album, while at times lacking a sense of musical unity, succeeding due to being stronger as a whole than when judged by its collective parts.
As CSNY became blighted by personality clashes and personal travails, Young returned to the task of furthering his own career and with ‘AFTER THE GOLD RUSH‘ (his third solo outing) cut a keynote 70s album – his quivering vocal style perfect for material that addressed alienation, racism and matters of the heart over sparse instrumentation, no matter if the melodies were folk or rock orientated.
If such gripping music triggered the argument CSN needed Y more than he was in need of them, on the heights Stills attained on ‘STEPHEN STILLS‘ it could also be argued he had no place being in the group either.
Expanding the rock, blues and country themes that had previously informed his work, Stills added to the mix by giving full reign to his taste in Latin shuffles and stacked harmonies. Fleshed out with audacious guitar work, not just by the man at the centre of it all, but also from friends Clapton and Hendrix (to whose memory the set is dedicated), Stills, like Young, appeared to have a deep pool of creative resources – their undoubted talents resulting in a number of fine albums as the decade unfolded, although in 1974 both were enticed back to the CSNY mother-ship for a lucrative reunion tour.
If members of The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield had formed the first wave of Dylan disciples (as for the great man himself he too released a pair of albums, the frankly boring ‘Self Portrait‘ and infinitely better but still flawed ‘New Morning‘), among the second batch were Joni Mitchell and James Taylor – both of whom did their rapidly growing reputations no harm at all in 1970.
Her lyrics moving closer to poetry and with greater musical refinement than displayed on her previous two albums, Mitchell weighed in with ‘LADIES OF THE CANYON‘ an album of astonishing consistency that captured as well as any, better in fact, the emotional confusions of the time.
Often considered a transitional record between the folk-based origins of her early work and the incomparable sophistication of what was to follow, songs bearing the gravitas of ‘For Free,’ ‘Conversation,’ ‘The Arrangement‘ and ‘Rainy Night House‘ make this a standout recording on its own terms.
All that before factoring in her arrangement of ‘Woodstock‘ (covered by CSNY on ‘Deja Vu‘) and hit single ‘Big Yellow Taxi‘ – where in less than three minutes Joni advocates environmentalism, is dumped by a lover and produces the most infectious laugh ever captured on record.
On ‘SWEET BABY JAMES‘ Taylor often sounded no less eloquent, jazz and pop inflections bringing light and shade to compositions that are folk in orientation, while moving between hope and uneasy reflection in outlook. The title-track, ‘Country Road’ and the compelling, if downbeat ‘Fire and Rain‘ – arguably the most melancholy song ever to become a hit single – are recognised as modern day standards; that Taylor could write and sing with such maturity at the age of just 22 marked him out as a significant artist just two albums into his career.
It was a year when the singer-songwriter fraternity saw their stock continue to rise, Cat Stevens – ‘Tea for the Tillerman‘ and Elton John – ‘Elton John’, ‘Tumbleweed Connection‘ – both released admirable work, while Rod Stewart could not have made a more charming record than ‘Gasoline Alley‘ (not until ‘Every Picture Tells A Story‘ the following year that is). But in terms of sales, every 1970 release was eclipsed by ‘BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER‘ by Simon & Garfunkel.
Having threatened world domination through Garfunkel lending his sweet, expressive voice to Simon’s introspective folk ballads, Simon and Garfunkel achieved it with what proved their final album. Offering a wider variety of styles than anything they had previously attempted, the perfectly constructed title-track became a worldwide hit single, its gospel overtones indicative of a broader musical spectrum.
While not protest music in the Dylan/CSNY sense, Simon preferring to question rather than challenge, a grand scale production helped return off-the-scale sales figures for an album bought in the truck load by those seeking an antidote to the times rather than answers.
On his exceptional ‘TWELVE SONGS‘ Randy Newman did not claim to have any solutions – but what he had was a keen eye for narrative detail and sharp sense of humour. Striking in its range of subject matter, even if his vocal delivery occasionally sounded hap-hazard, the wordplay, piano arrangements and supporting guitar work from Ry Cooder certainly was not.
Free (‘Fire and Water‘) and The Band (‘Stagefright‘), did nothing to harm their enviable reputations, while the live ‘Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out‘ captured the Rolling Stones at their most onstage louche. North of England folk-rock crossover merchants Lindisfarne announced their arrival with ‘NICELY OUT OF TUNE‘ a debut album almost too good to be true. Showcasing the extraordinary song-writing talent of guitarist Alan Hull, his gift for humour (‘We Can Swing Together,’), was outdone by a flair for poetic poignancy, the breathtakingly beautiful ‘Winter Song‘ singled out by many, Elvis Costello among them, as one of the greatest songs ever written.
If Lindisfarne arrived in style then Velvet Underground departed with a gripping final testament entitled ‘LOADED.’ To date they had expanded the base of electric music (heavy rock, punk rock and mid-70s New Wave would all bare their fingerprints) and in the lyrics of guitarist Lou Reed explored themes hitherto not discussed.
Completely out of kilter with the prevailing late-60s peace/love vibe, the menacing stance taken by this innovative New York ensemble rendered them cult-status and no more. Despite the internal rifts and personnel changes that had brought them to the point of dissolution, they signed off with an album that was dynamic, adventurous and by previous Velvet standards accessible – ‘Sweet Jane‘ adding at least one more classic to an already impeccable roster.
If the Velvet Underground had come to represent a sub-culture where rock music was heard at its most primitive and demonic with ‘SIGNED, SEALED & DELIVERED‘ Stevie Wonder presented soul at its most tasteful. Assuming production duties for the first time, he takes the sound of Motown to a new level of clarity and detectable also are the first signs of social comment that would make his run of brilliant 70s albums so essential – miraculously, the glorious title-track managed to be both a mid-60s throwback and indication of things to come at the same time.
At the outset of a new decade the times were no more changing than they were confusing, the United States facing up to the dichotomy of landing men on the moon, but being unable to extricate from the war in Vietnam. For popular music 1970 was a year of sweeping lyrical pronouncements and very often dense, trenchant music, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young combining the two in voicing their anger on ‘Ohio‘ – Neil Young’s furious response to events at Kent State University in May 1970 when four students, protesting against the war in South East Asia, were gunned down by National Guardsmen.
For all the progression and artistic gains made during the year it was also 12 months clouded by regret and loss. The Beatles were gone by early spring and by late fall Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin had succumbed to drug-related deaths – rock music, for all the creative peaks it would reach during the 70s, immeasurably poorer without them all.
TWENTY GREAT ALBUMS of 1970:
- PLASTIC ONO BAND – John Lennon;
- MOONDANCE – Van Morrison;
- AFTER THE GOLD RUSH – Neil Young;
- LAYLA AND OTHER ASSORTED LOVE SONGS – Derek and the Dominoes;
- ALL THINGS MUST PASS – George Harrison;
- LADIES OF THE CANYON – Joni Mitchell;
- LOLA VERSUS POWERMAN AND THE MONEYGOROUND – The Kinks;
- TWELVE SONGS – Randy Newman;
- LIVE AT LEEDS – The Who;
- LOADED – Velvet Underground;
- SWEET BABY JAMES – James Taylor;
- COSMO’S FACTORY – Creedence Clearwater Revival;
- SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED – Stevie Wonder;
- LET IT BE – The Beatles;
- STEPHEN STILLS – Stephen Stills;
- NICELY OUT OF TUNE – Lindisfarne;
- BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER – Simon & Garfunkel;
- DEJA VU – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young;
- LED ZEPPELIN III – Led Zeppelin;
- AMERICAN BEAUTY – Grateful Dead;
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.